One of the more entertaining storylines of the 2018 San Diego Padres season was, without a doubt, the emergence of Franmil Reyes. The powerful slugger lumbered his way into the hearts of many Padres fans last season, appearing in 87 games during his rookie season. On this New Year’s Eve day, we celebrate our countdown to Padres Opening Day, now 87 days away, by taking a quick look at the “Franimal” and his exciting rookie debut.
I wasn’t overly excited about Reyes when he was originally called up to the major leagues on May 14th. Sure, he was destroying baseballs in Triple-A with the El Paso Chihuahuas, however, his high strikeout rate and 6’5″ and 275-pound frame didn’t exactly bring about excitement when thinking about his defensive capabilities in the outfield at Petco Park.